Recently in Health & happiness Category

1. Coconut oil/coconut butter (it's liquid when it's warm, i.e., oil, and solid when it's cooler, i.e., butter). I use it for makeup remover (eye makeup, too), moisturizer for face and body (it really, really works), deep conditioner for hair, lip balm, cuticle oil, bath oil. It is truly amazing stuff. You can get it at a health food store or order online (Nutiva is the brand I buy); it's so reasonably priced for all it does, it frees up cash for some of pricier items below.

2. Dr. Hauschka deodorant. I stopped using antiperspirant because of its aluminum content, 

and Dr. Hauschka's super-natural deodorant takes up the slack. Like all Dr. Hauschaka products (with the exception of sunscreen which by law has to be in a nonbreakable container), it's even packaged in glass. Find it online or at natural food stores and upscale pharmacies.

3. Ahava Mud Exfoliator. This comes from the Dead Sea and does a fine job of facial exfoliation without irritating my sensitive skin. In addition to ordering online, you can find Ahava at select natural food stores. Today there was even a selection of Ahava products, including Mud Exfoliator, at Marshall's -- a total treat, discounted, right there in the checkout line.

4. Aubrey Organics Green Tea & Ginkgo Moisturizer SPF 15. This is my standard daytime moisturizer and sun protector, totally natural ingredients -- it even looks green when you put it on. I can almost feel my skin drink it up, and makeup goes on beautifully over it. At natural food stores and online.

5. Eco-Dent tooth powders. Once you try these, it's hard to go back to paste. I use "Daily Care" in a luscious cinnamon flavor most of the time, and ExtraBrite for Whitening for a couple of weeks two or three times a year. At natural food stores and online.

There are a lot of opinions and philosophies on food and nutrition, but here's a basic foundation:

1. Eat greens. Eat greens like crazy, the darker the better. Romaine, leaf lettuce, broccoli, chard, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, arugula, parsley, cillantro, spinach, Mesclun greens. If it's green, it'll help you. Eat tons of greens in salads, green smoothies (just toss some romaine, kale, or spinach in -- it won't affect the flavor), green juices (use a base of apple or carrot to take the edge off and some lemon for zip), marinated greens, steamed greens, sauteed greens, green soups. Remember the guy in Forrest Gump who knew a million things to do with shrimp? Be like that with greens.

2. Eat plants, different plants with different colors for different phytochemicals. Eat leaves, stems, roots, flowers, fruits, and seeds. Have salad. Crudites with a nice dip. Steamed, baked, stir-fried and sauteed veggies. Grab an apple, a carrot, an orange, a pear. 

3. Eat whole food. If you like bread, get the grainiest, grittiest, heaviest, chewiest bread you can find: it's full of fiber, B vitamins, and honest nutrients that the white stuff we used to play "communion" with, and with the sun-tanned varieties that are white bread masquerading as whole-grain, just won't give you. Eat brown rice. Eat potatoes with their skins on. Get more of your fats from whole foods -- olives, sunflower seeds, ground flax seeds, nuts, soybeans -- and less from extracted oils. And leave refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, and the soft drinks that are full of them alone: they're really hurting you. Drink water, seltzer water, soft drinks that are half seltzer and half fruit juice, coconut water, and fresh vegetable juice. Your body will thank you kindly.

There's plenty more you could do, refining and experimenting and reading and learning, but this alone will transform the way you feel and the way you see your life. 

Preventative living is being kind to the people you love right here, right now. It's doing what you need to do and not what seems like fun, and saving some money regardless of the great shoe sale going on. It's taking care of your body, even when that's boring and sweaty and lacks whipped cream. 

I had occasion to share this list with someone today. It falls under the rubric of "prevention" so I thought I'd share it with you. Now, obviously, I'm not saying that what you eat can prevent all cancer and sometimes things just happen and they just plain suck. However, the science is clear that some cancer can indeed be prevented with the proper nutrients, so why not hedge your bets? This list comes from one of my favorite books on the subject, Eat to Beat Cancer: A Research Scientist Explains How You and Your Family Can Avoid Up to 90% of All Cancers, by R. Robert Hatherill, Ph.D.

My invitation to you today is to find where you can be solid in your convictions and where you can give yourself a little elastic-waist treatment. Nobody can tell you where the line needs to be: this is your life. You just need a line somewhere.

I'm finding a compromise like this right now with my diet as the cold weather approaches. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know I've been eating a mostly raw diet for months and loving it: I feel healthier than I ever have. But a cold snap last week told me that in November and January and March, I'm going to want some cooked food, maybe every day. I had to figure out a way to keep the benefits of raw and still keep myself warm and comfy-feeling through the winter. So I came up with this: